Texas flight attendant reveals best travel tips for stress-free summer flights

Flight attendant reveals why traveling to not-so-obvious destinations is beneficial — and why grabbing the first flight of the day makes sense

A flight attendant based in Dallas, Texas, is revealing her favorite travel hacks as summer trips near for Americans all over the country. 

Bernice Padilla, 29, has been in the industry for six years and traveled to 44 different countries, she said. 

Over the years, she's collected and created her own travel insights to make getting to and from vacation much easier. 

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"May and September are great months to travel as they’re before and after peak summer here in the U.S.," she noted, as SWNS reported. 

The world traveler, who also runs a bucket list travel social media account, said she highly recommends booking travel in the "shoulder" seasons, such as May or September, due to low travel demands before and after the peak summer months. 

Bernice Padilla of Dallas has been a flight attendant for over six years and says she's traveled to 44 countries. Among her tips: Consider May and September for getaways, as travel demands are lower at those times. (SWNS)

There tend to be fewer crowds and "more affordable prices" while the weather stays consistent. 

"Every country has its specific shoulder season," she said, "so I recommend doing some research before booking."

To best avoid delays, Padilla said she recommends booking the first flight of the day to get the best chance for an on-time departure, as SWNS noted in its report.

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"If there are any delays, it ends up being a domino effect," she said. 

"Say there is a delay in California due to the weather — then my flight there can’t take off until that flight takes off."

The airline attendant, among her travel insights, recommended taking the first flight out in the morning to avoid departure delays.  (SWNS)

Although that trickle-down effect can have a negative impact on afternoon or evening flights, Padilla said early-morning travel times tend not to be delayed for that reason. 

If travelers are looking to go to Europe and beyond, Padilla recommended trying to find locations abroad that aren’t the most popular. 

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"Everyone loves to go to London, Rome, Paris and Barcelona — [but] I think there are a lot of great places people can go that are overlooked," she said. 

Padilla said she's going to Argentina, which she recommends as a place that isn’t as populated with tourists, SWNS noted. 

Padilla, pictured here in Thailand, said she's learned some travel hacks over the years — and revealed a few of them. (SWNS)

As for packing tips, Padilla recommended using packing cubes if there’s an overpacking issue in a household. 

"I still have a problem with overpacking, but I try not to overpack as much," she said.

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The flight attendant also recommended packing only a carry-on during the summer for ease of travel. 

Padilla said she always brings along some key basics that seem obvious but are wise to remember nevertheless: a reusable water bottle, a sweater or blanket, a pen to fill out any forms needed, noise-canceling headphones and a portable charger. 

A flight attendant shared top travel tips ahead of this year's busy summer travel season.  (SWNS)

Padilla creates content on social media of her world travels and has over 93,000 Instagram followers and over 144,000 TikTok followers. v